Provender Partners and Cerberus Announce Joint Venture

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Partnership Builds on Provender Partners’ Position as Premier Refrigerated Real Estate Investor in the U.S.

Provender Partners, the premier refrigerated real estate investor in the U.S., today announced a joint venture with an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. (“Cerberus”), a global leader in alternative investing. The partnership will focus on building a multibillion-dollar portfolio of cold storage and processing facilities in the United States, while bringing vital supply chain solutions to market.

Furthering Provender Partners’ position as the leading investor of refrigerated real estate in the United States, the joint venture will provide for a broad range of acquisition opportunities in all U.S. markets. Since its founding in 2014, Provender Partners has acquired nearly $500 million of refrigerated real estate totaling five million square feet. Cerberus Real Estate has a long track record investing across asset classes, property types, and geographies, and has deployed approximately $29 billion of equity in more than 575 transactions around the world. The joint venture will build upon Provender Partners’ industry-leading platform and Cerberus’ global investment and asset management expertise.

“We’re excited to partner with Cerberus and leverage their expertise and financial horsepower to further drive our market-leading position,” said Neil A. Johnson, Founder and CEO of Provender Partners. “Beyond expanding our portfolio, the partnership will broaden our ability to help farmers and distributors as global conditions continue to impact the food supply chain. As processors and warehousers seek efficiency and geographic diversity, we look forward to delivering innovative, quality food supply chain solutions.”

Tom Wagner, Head of North American Real Estate at Cerberus, commented, “The cold storage industrial segment plays an integral role in the U.S. food supply chain and we see strong opportunities to build on the market dynamics. Together with Provender Partners, we will be able to acquire and enhance cold storage facilities across the United States to build a national portfolio of high-quality assets and meet the critical needs of food-related tenants.”

The investment also enables Provender Partners to bring proprietary solutions to market. Its Strategic Break Bulk Freezer Facilities (“BBFF”) program, for example, creates an expansive network of refrigerated buildings designed to respond to market conditions, helping to offset future disruptions. The first-of-its-kind-program enables farmers and food processors to pivot between bulk and individual packaging, thereby eliminating waste, saving billions of dollars, and providing farmers alternative solutions for their product during times of uncertainty.

About Provender Partners
Provender Partners is the premier Food Related Industrial Buildings (FRIB) investor in the U.S. and the only investor 100% dedicated to FRIB. With real estate holdings throughout the United States, Provender Partners combines cutting-edge research and analysis with years of experience to ensure the best possible value for its clients in every facet of the FRIB business. In the past five years, Provender Partners has acquired nearly $500 million of refrigerated real estate totaling 5M SF; sold $493 million of property; and leased more than 4.7M SF to clients that include Nash Finch Company (NASDAQ: SPTN), Sprouts, (NASDAQ: SFM), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), Hello Fresh and Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC).

About Cerberus
Founded in 1992, Cerberus is a global leader in alternative investing with over $48 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate strategies. We invest across the capital structure where our integrated investment platforms and proprietary operating capabilities create an edge to improve performance and drive long-term value. Our tenured teams have experience working collaboratively across asset classes, sectors, and geographies to seek strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors. For more information about our people and platforms, visit us at www.cerberus.com.

 

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